New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has said there will be no CBI inquiry into the Bengal government’s creation of extra posts to accommodate the estimated 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff sacked from the state’s School Service Commission after the court voided the selection process.
A Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna-led bench overruled the Calcutta High Court, pointing out courts are barred from investigating cabinet decisions and that the order was, therefore, incorrect.
The top court was hearing a petition from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government.
On Monday the Supreme Court ruled that the West Bengal School Service Commission’s selection processes were “vitiated by manipulation and fraud” and had tainted its legitimacy.
The bench led by the Chief Justice and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the appointments resulted from cheating and said, “Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption.”
At the centre of the row are supernumerary posts created by the state government. More than 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the state-level selection test in 2016. The number of vacant posts was 24,640, but 25,753 appointment letters were issued. It is alleged that these supernumeric posts provided room for illegal recruitment.
Irregularities in the teachers’ recruitment had opened a can of worms for the Trinamool Congress government. Several of its top leaders, including former education minister and a trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee, are in jail in connection with the case.
Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya described the Supreme Court verdict as a “crushing defeat” for Mamata Banerjee. “Mamata Banerjee’s close aide, Partha Chatterjee – who served as the Education Minister and was caught with wads of cash – is already in jail for his role in the scam. The Chief Minister, under whose watch this massive fraud ruined the careers of thousands of youths, must also be held accountable and face trial,” he said.
Hours after the verdict, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she does not accept the Supreme Court judgment personally, but her government will implement it and repeat the selection process. She also questioned if the Opposition BJP and CPM wanted Bengal’s education system to collapse and alleged a conspiracy.